The Last Chronicle of Barset eBook

to make long journeys. A run into Barchester
and back, which was altogether under ten miles, was
generally the extent of their work. ’I meant
to have posted from Barchester,’ said the major.
‘You may as well take the horses through,’
said the archdeacon. ’Your mother will not
want them. And I suppose you might as well bring
your friend Toogood back to dinner. We’ll
give him a bed.’

‘He must be a good sort of man,’ said
Mrs Grantly; ’for I suppose he has done this
all for love?’

‘Yes; and spent a lot of money out of his own
pocket too!’ said the major enthusiastically.
’And the joke of it is, that he has been defending
Crawley in Crawley’s teeth. Mr Crawley had
refused to employ counsel; but Toogood had made up
his mind to have a barrister, on purpose that there
might be a fuss about it in court. He thought
that it would tell with the jury in Crawley’s
favour.’

‘Bring him here, and we’ll hear all about
that from himself,’ said the archdeacon.
The major, before he started, told his mother that
he should call at Framley Parsonage on his way back;
but he said nothing on this subject to his father.

‘I’ll write to her in a day or two,’
said Mrs Grantly, ’and we’ll have things
settled pleasantly.’

CHAPTER LXXIV

THE CRAWLEYS ARE INFORMED

Major Grantly made an early start, knowing that he
had a long day’s work before him. He had
written over-night to Mr Toogood, naming the hour at
which he would reach ‘The Dragon’, and
was there punctual to the moment. When the attorney
came out and got into the open carriage, while the
groom held the steps for him, it was plain to see that
the respect in which he was held at ‘The Dragon’
was greatly increased. It was already known that
he was going to Plumstead that night, and it was partly
understood that he was engaged with the Grantly and
Arabin faction in defending Mr Crawley the clergyman
against the Proudie faction. Dan Stringer, who
was still at the inn, as he saw his enemy get into
the Plumstead carriage, felt himself to be one of
the palace party, and felt that if Mrs Proudie had
only lived till after the assizes all this heavy trouble
would not have befallen him. The waiter with the
dirty napkin stood at the door and bowed, thinking
perhaps that as the Proudie party was going down in
Barchester, it might be as well to be civil to Mr
Toogood. The days of the Stringers were probably
drawing to a close at the ‘The Dragon of Wantly’,
and there was no knowing who might be the new landlord.

Henry Grantly and the lawyer found very little to
say to each other on their long way out to Hogglestock.
They were thinking, probably, much of the coming interview,
and hardly knew how to express their thoughts to each
other. ‘I will not take the carriage up
to the house,’ said the major, as there were
entering the parish of Hogglestock; ’particularly
as the man must feed the horses.’ So they